Emphasizing that there is still work to be done and the figures are not final, district officials in the Kingston City School District (KCSD) shared a $251.46 million rollover budget presentation for the 2025-26 school year. Without an increase in state aid beyond what was proposed by Governor Kathy Hochul in her executive budget proposal, the district will have to close a $4.59 million gap to come under the state’s tax cap.
“We are still waiting for the New York State budget to pass,” said the district’s assistant superintendent for business Sharifa Carbon during a school board meeting held on Wednesday, April 4. “But while we’ve been waiting we have been working diligently to fine-tune our numbers and look at where we are and where we need to be.”
That process thus far includes predicting revenues, calculating employee salaries and benefits, estimating other fixed costs, reviewing line-item expenditures and evaluating existing programs and prioritizing enhancements. Some of the district’s predictions are based on the traditional push and pull around the annual state budget, a process where legislators frequently — but critically not always — succeed in increasing state aid.
In the rollover plan, the district has included a state aid increase of $5.315 million, calling it anticipated minimum. Elsewhere, the tax levy could increase by $8.2 million. But the district is also planning for revenue decreases in income from interest ($350,000), PILOTs ($700,000) and other revenues ($1,700 million). Their anticipated total revenue increase is $10,764,200.
The tax levy limit calculation in the current iteration of the budget proposal includes a substantial 7.27 percent cap on the tax levy increase, compared to a 3.26 percent cap on the 2024-25 budget. District officials are seeking to fall below the 7.27 limit by around $355,808, a 6.97 percent increase of $8.2 million, meaning they would need a simple majority to succeed.
The governor’s executive budget proposal left the KCSD with sticker shock with foundation aid, which after four years of post-COVID increases averaging $5.147 million is currently set at just $1.2 million, a 2-percent increase.
“We were trending in the right direction,” said Carbon.
In the rollover budget, increases in expenses include salaries and benefits ($7,605,200), debt service ($3,191,600), transportation ($4,100,000), and special education ($1 million). In an effort to avoid cuts to staff, programs, or extracurriculars like athletics, district officials are looking at savings in electricity rates through consortiums similar to those seen in some local communities. They are also reviewing their special education, transportation and out-of-district tuition costs. The district has tried in the past to bring some of those programs back in-house, but wound up returning them to BOCES as a more cost-effective option.
Other savings are likely to be found after Ulster BOCES opens its Career & Technical Center at iPark 87 in Lake Katrine this fall and shifts its special education services to its Port Ewen facility. Out-of-district costs are likely to come down with special education services nearby.
“(Ulster BOCES District Superintendent Jonah) Schenker and his team…recognized the demand for these placements for students who are exhibiting needs well beyond what we’ve experienced prior to 2020,” said KCSD Superintendent Paul Padalino. “That was really one of the motivating factors behind BOCES looking to go to iPark 87 and changing Port Ewen into basically entirely special ed. programming for out-of-district students.”
District officials and school board trustees are also wary of making cuts now that could adversely impact students in the future.
“We have to be fiscally responsible for the taxpayers but there’s also how much we leave on the table we leave on the table for future years,” said Trustee marc Rider.
Carbon agreed.
“If we leave $355,000 on the table for the 25-26 budget when we’re creating the 26-27 budget we will be, from before we even start the calculation, we will have $355,000 less revenue to work with for our students and our district for that budget year.”
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